What impact does it have on a person to have freedom and self-respect stripped away and then seemingly returned years later after decades of incarceration?
“The Exonerated,” presented by the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, attempts to answer this question through the words of six innocent men and women who, after years in prison, emerged from death row to try to reclaim what was left of their lives. One performance only will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 3 p.m.
Culled from interviews, letters, transcripts, case files and the public record, “The Exonerated” tells true stories of six wrongfully convicted survivors of death row. It will be performed as an anthology by 17 local actors seated behind music stands.
This prize-winning play moves between first-person monologues and scenes set in courtrooms and prisons. The six interwoven stories paint a picture of an American criminal justice system gone horribly wrong and six souls who persevered to survive it.
The audience will meet Kerry, a sensitive Texan brutalized on death row for 22 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence. Gary is a Midwestern organic farmer condemned for the murder of his parents, but later exonerated when two motorcycle-gang members confessed.
Robert is an African-American horse groomer, who spent seven years on death row for the murder of a white woman before evidence emerged that the victim was found clutching hair from a Caucasian attacker.
David, who had aspirations to the ministry, is bullied into confessing at age 18 to a robbery and murder he had nothing to do with. Sunny, a bright-spirited hippie, spent 17 years in prison for the murder of two police officers, while another man confessed.
Finally, the audience will meet Delbert, a black poet who serves as the play’s center, convicted of rape and murder in the 1970s Deep South. He was later freed when evidence surfaced showing that he was not even in town when the crime occurred.
All their stories have been compiled and edited by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen into a play that is a riveting work of theater and an exploration of the dark side of the criminal justice system.
The play originated as Blank and Jensen spent summer 2000 interviewing 40 former death-row inmates who had been freed by the state after having served as much as 22 years in prison. They adapted the stories of six people into a script, and in 2002, the play premiered off-Broadway.
For their efforts, Blank and Jenson received the Champion of Justice Award from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The play also won Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards.
Under the direction of Todd Olson, the play features D’Andre Anderson (Robert), Dylan Kussman (Kerry), Ricardo Morris (David), Jason Russell (Gary), LaFrederick Thirkill (Delbert) and Julie Van Valkenburg (Sunny).
The cast also includes Jerry Bowman, Courtenay Cholovich, Jim Eernisse, Judy Gallagher, Cary Garrett, Jeromie Gentry, Ray Laliberte, John McCune, Charlotte Olson, Christian Smith and Ruth Spellman.
The production is a benefit for the Chattanooga Theatre Centre and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Chattanooga.
Admission is $20. For tickets, call 423-267-8534 or visit TheatreCentre.com.